A review of Bed Bugs in Warrington, Knutsford and Lymm, in 2010
One of the most reviled and misunderstood pests known to the world is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us fell asleep to sleep at night as youngsters with the parting words of our parents in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?
Bed Bugs probably started to predate on human beings at around the period when we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella mainly feed on bats and it is probable that bat feeding species of bed bus evolved to feed on human blood when our ancestors started sleeping} in bat infested caves.
Up to the arrival of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were commonplace stowaways in most low quality homes.
The later part of the 20th century saw pest controllers dealing with very few bed bug call outs indeed, their presence being mostly restricted to low quality holiday homes and student accomadation etc.
Most people mistake dust mites, which cannot be seen by the naked, with bed bugs which certainly.
Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a few milemetres in size and engorged after feeding on human blood.
Bed bugs usually feed on human blood every week or so, coming out in the hours before dawn and finding their target by smelling the exhaled carbon dioxide from human breath and when nearby their target, they sense body body heat.
In the absence of a suitable human host to dine on they can stay dormant for periods of up to 18 months.
Signs of a bed bug problem are spots of blood on sheets and on the corners of mattresses and many people can react badly to the bites of these bugs.
The early the 21st century has seen bed bug infestations explode across the planet, the easy availability of overseas and economic migration have both been given as reasons for the resurgence.
What is positive is that that are now making a real return not only in cheaper quality housing but top class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
One London borough reports a doubling of bed bug infestations every year from 1995 to 2001.
|One night away in an infested premises is all it takes, they catch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a simple journey to work on an infested tube or train can be all it takes to bring these bugs to your own home.
They are an difficult pest to eradicate as contrary to popular belief they do not just live in beds. They hide in any nook and cranny anywhere close to a sleeping human target, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed side telephones etc and dealing with them is both laborious and time consuming. They have even been discovered found living under the toe-nails of infirm people and in the folds of flesh on very fat people.
They are not a pest that can be eradicated by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be required.
Call Harrier Pest Prevention on 01772 837727